Lemon Pepper Chicken Sandwiches

I so wished I had made more of the lemon pepper chicken so I could have made more of these sandwiches. I didn't know I could love lemon pepper chicken any more than I already did. The key to these sandwiches, other than the mouth-watering chicken, is the Italian seasoned canned tomatoes. Normally I'd used fresh tomatoes on a sandwich, but I didn't have any, and there were some leftover canned tomatoes in the fridge so I just went with it. Oh so good.

Ingredients:
3 lemon pepper chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (recipe 1, recipe 2--I used recipe 2)
8 pieces of sandwich bread
1 14.5-ounce can Italian seasoned canned tomatoes, drained
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
Mayo, optional
Onion, optional
Cucumber, optional

Directions:
Set oven to broil. Lightly grease baking sheet with cooking spray.

Shred the chicken breasts. Divide chicken, tomatoes, and cheese evenly among 4 slices of bread. Places the sandwiches open-faced on the baking sheet. Place the remaining 4 slices of bread on the baking sheet as well and broil until bread is toasted and cheese is melted, 1 to 2 minutes.

Remove from oven and add mayo, onions, or cucumber as desired.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Chicken Recipes:
Buffalo Chicken Dip
Captain Morgan Chicken with Ginger Rice
Chicken Enchiladas with Fire-Roasted Tomatoes
Chicken Patties
Chicken Stuffed with Ricotta, Pesto, and Sun-dried Tomatoes 
Chicken with a Honey Mustard Sauce 

BBQ Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Caramelized Onions

Tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, one of the best combo ever created in my opinion. We dress up your basic canned tomato soup with basil (fresh is best but dried will work) then add some shredded cheddar cheese to our bowls. Eric also throws in a few pepperonis.

The key to our grilled cheese sandwiches is using shredded cheese instead of sliced cheese. It just melts so much better and you can heap on as much or as little as you'd like! Sharp cheddar, a Mexican blend, pepper jack . . . the options are endless. If you have a Meijer near you, their store brand taco shredded cheese makes an absolutely fantastic grilled cheese sandwiches--and is pretty damn good in the tomato soup too!

While Eric likes his grilled cheese sandwiches straight forward, I like to experiment with them. Add sun-dried tomatoes. Apples and red onion mayo. Maybe some pesto. Or barbecue sauce and caramelized onions . . .

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
8 slices of bread (I highly recommend sourdough)*
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Butter
2 to 4 tablespoons of your favorite barbecue sauce (ours is Sweet Baby Ray)
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced

Directions:
In a skillet, melt a tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Add sliced onions. Cook for about 15 minutes or until the onions turn a golden brown and taste sweet, stirring occasionally. Remove from skillet and set aside.

Spread butter on into one side of each slice of bread. Spread the barbecue sauce on 4 slices of bread, opposite side of the butter. Use as much or as little sauce as you'd like (I used a couple of teaspoons).

Heat the skillet over medium-low heat and place a slice of bread butter side down in the pan. Working quickly, add roughly 1/4 cup of the shredded cheese and 1/4 of the caramelized onions then another slice of bread, butter side up. Cook until one side is golden brown and the cheese begins to melt then flip over and cook that side until it's golden brown. Repeat with the other two sandwiches.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Red Onion Mayo and Sandwich Ideas

A month or so ago, I was looking for non-dessert apple recipes for our surplus of apples, and I came across Paula Deen's Grilled Apple, Bacon, and Cheddar Sandwich with Roasted Red Onion Mayo (which I highly recommend!). But Paula's red onion mayo recipe didn't work for me. She roasted the onion in the oven--mine kept burning. She also pulsated the onions and mayo together in a food processor--I didn't want to dirty my food processor and have another dish to clean. So I came up with my own version. I make sandwiches just because I'm craving the red onion mayo.

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 teaspoon butter

small pinch of sea salt

small pinch of granulated sugar

1 medium red onion

1 cup mayonnaise 

Directions:

Slice the onion lengthwise and make the strips as thick or thin as you’d like. Add the olive oil and butter to the skillet and heat over medium-high heat. When the oil begins to shimmer or ripple, add the onions to the pan. Stir to coat the onions then spread them out evenly in the pan. Reduce heat low and sprinkle with salt and sugar to aid the caramelizing process. Stir every five minutes to avoid burning the onions. You will notice the onions browning and shrinking the longer they cook. Once your onion reach the color, texture, and flavor that you want, remove them from the heat. Mine take between 20 and 30 minutes. 

Remove the onions from the skillet and allow them to cool. Once the onions are cooled, coarsely chop them and mix them with the mayo in an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for at least an hour so the onions have time to infusion the mayo.

Sandwich Ideas:
Spread the red onion mayo on your typical lunch meat sandwich or your hamburger/turkey burger/veggie burger. I also use it to make chicken salad. Mix 1 cup chicken with 1/4 cup red onion mayo, a dash or two of black pepper, finely diced apples, and two pieces of crumbled bacon. Spread on a roll and add a slice of cheddar cheese. This mayo is also amazing on grilled cheese sandwiches.

Enjoy!

~Krissy